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What does fashion have to do with the climate? Well, what I used to say was… our Earth is a system of four spheres- atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. These four are interconnected and when fashion pollutes one sphere (for instance dumping wastewater from this season’s neon pink dye into local waterways) that sphere’s pollutant, in turn, causes damage to the other three spheres. That’s the way a system works; and when we burn fuel to transport tons of fibers, fabrics, buttons and clothing around the globe we release carbon dioxide into the air, which in turn, causes damage to the other three spheres. That’s what I used to say.

Now I say something different, because back in May I decided to apply for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, an organization founded by former Vice-President Al Gore. My thoughts were, if accepted, I’d learn a few scientific facts on climate-change, which I’d then weave into my four spheres recitation and other fashion sustainability work. I thought in having those hard facts I would further translate the urgency of changing a company’s current fashion production and supply chain model. I would be more successful I thought and basically applied to help myself professionally.

In July I was accepted. I excitedly freed up my schedule for four days in October and, when the date came, flew merrily to Pittsburgh. From the moment I found my seat on the plane- the trip was exciting. My seat mate looked at me and said, “I’m en route to Pittsburgh to be trained by Al Gore.” “Me too!” said I. We chatted the whole flight. His dad, a few rows up…. also being trained. Those two across the aisle…. being trained, too. In line for the restroom…. also being trained! Giddy, and now part of a movement, we flew into Pittsburgh to learn the “Inconvenient Truth”.

Arriving at the hotel, I popped in the hotel bar and… climate reality trainees. At breakfast… climate reality galore! I was surrounded by strangers, all eager-eyed, pumped and ready to go! I hadn’t felt that energized with a bunch of people I didn’t know since…. well since wearing a pussy hat last January in DC!

With enthusiasm and smiles, we all shuttled to the city’s LEED-certified convention center. 1,300 of us were in attendance and the training did not disappoint. Nor did Al Gore, who kicked us off with a two-hour Climate Reality slide show that was visual, impactful, unsettling, eye-opening, alarming.

First off, this was much better than my explanation of the four spheres….. I sat there realizing even more urgently how fashion must change and how we must change now. Our earth and it’s atmosphere is so fragile.

Source: Nasa

Did you know that if you painted a layer of shellac on a classroom globe, you would create the same proportion of thickness of that of our atmosphere’s troposphere and the stratosphere to the Earth? It’s true. It is that thin. And if you drove a car perpendicularly up from any point on earth- you’d reach the end of the atmosphere in just six miles. Here’s another fact we trainees learned: Between all the global mass production, air freight, ocean shipping, land transport, agriculture, landfills, and oil production…. we are putting 110 million tons of manmade global warming pollution into our atmosphere every single day. Every 24 hours we release millions of tons of CO2 and other gases- onto our ceiling! Our beloved fashion industry is responsible for a great deal of these emissions. How much no one can calculate exactly, but as per Stella McCartney and Ellen MacArthur’s new report published this month, fashion emits 1.2 billion tons of greenhouses gases each year- which is more than all the international flights and ocean container ships combined. McCartney and MacArthur’s findings reminded me of Al Gore’s video clip of the Hiroshima bomb going off. He equates what we humans put into the air each day as the equivalent of the emissions of 400,000 Hiroshima bombs per day. Kaboom!

We’ve got to change faster than planned and we need new changes. This is bigger than just neon pink dye running off into the village’s water supply while making velour sweatsuits. We must change now. Al Gore presents his visuals with passioned, yet matter-of-fact, explanations and goes through slide after slide of extreme worldwide weather events, such as the numerous hurricanes we’ve had recently, the plethora of extremely hot days, and the increase in flooding. He explains evaporation from the oceans is the same process that pulls water from the soil and causes droughts and the longer more harmful fire seasons we are experiencing. Gore then presents in detail how these and other climate changes affect our global food and water supplies, as well as all the health impacts, such as the sharp increase in allergens, ticks, and infectious diseases. Gore deeply discusses the melting ice caps in Antartica and Greenland and the rising sea levels. Then we see a most-startling slide with a large graph titled Top 10 Cities at Risk from Sea Level Rise in 2070… and youza…..New York is third- in the world. These aren’t musings or fake-news type facts Mr. Gore is presenting, these are science and the sources are up there in front of us with each slide. Gore started the day with a question, “Must We Change?” After these grueling images, we all know the answer is, “Yes.”

But Mr. Gore is optimistic… he announces we have solutions at hand and clicks through multiple slides showing solar panel and wind turbine installation and explains how prices are dropping for both. We see many buildings, homes, huts, and cities with gleaming alternative-energy panels and mills. We’re shown that we can do this without fossil fuels, yes- without coal and oil extraction. We learn that wind alone can supply our worldwide electrical consumption 40 times over! Another uplifting fact we see on screen is US solar energy jobs are growing 17 times faster than the overall economy, and there’ll be over 2.6 million new jobs in solar, wind and energy-efficiency sectors in the next few years here in the US.

I am getting excited… how can I help fashion with this training? I have been discussing more responsible and sustainable sourcing and design development for years… but this is energy. This can make a big change, this is not one company switching away from viscose. This involves our industry designing energy-efficient machines, factories and processes. I start imaging solar-powered sewing machines, ironing boards and buttonhole machines. Wind-powered digital printers, laser cutters, and circular knitting machines dance in my head. We can do this. We can convert our existing machinery. We can work together to cease putting chemicals and greenhouse gases in our air. Fashion sets the trends and if we work hard and collboratively we can embrace the high-tech, renewable, clean energy movement and make our clothing in new-energy trend-setting factories and mills! If you are interested, I can share with your company Gore’s slide show, we can discuss designing with energy-efficiency and producing with clean energy. The time is now.

Al Gore was up on that stage for three days moderating panels of scientists, research professors, and speakers that included a director at Tesla and a coal miner’s daughter! The training was inspirational and motivational. Our air is heating up, so too are our oceans, we have more intense and powerful storms, and our around-the-clock global manufacturing and fossil-burinng lifestyle has created this situation. This will continue – unless we make some dramatic changes. Well, one thing I know is that fashion loves drama. So here’s the dramatic reality: The climate will soon make areas of the planet uninhabitable. Those of us alive today must deal with this crisis. It’s a crisis each of us didn’t directly create directly, and although we would certainly prefer to go on dealing the way we have been dealing, we cannot. The current reality is real. It is happening, we are in the midst of a crisis and it is urgent. So let’s get going fellow fashion people- this is real- let’s switch our production and distribution to clean energy together, educate each other, and make this happen…. our world depends on it!

by: Andrea Kennedy

So you are thinking you want to take steps to become more sustainable. And maybe you’ve been thinking this way for awhile. So, what’s stopping you? Most often the answer is…. Cost.

Companies fear that moving to a more responsible design and production model will cost too much. They believe the customer will not pay more and they therefore will lose money. It’s really not possible, it’s thought by many, to be sustainable and profitable. Many businesses fear the expenses are too great in time and in dollars to research, initiate, and implement sustainable practices.

Photo byFabian Blank @blankerwahnsinn

Well…. yes, it certainly costs more to do things right. It costs more to pay workers fairly, to use natural or recycled fibers, and to inspect and audit factories. And, it does cost more per unit to manufacture with greener components and on the same hemisphere. But if we look away for the moment from the fact that each component and line item may cost more, and instead look at the total lowest cost, then things start to look different.
Just operating with less waste and more efficiency, which is the true essence of sustainability, will lower a company’s operating costs immediately. Efficiency and a no-waste commitment can be every company’s first step. And that costs nothing to implement! If you choose to use less energy, water and materials in your offices and supply-chain facilities, then immediately you will see usage rates decrease and will pay less in overhead costs.

This is an initiative already place at Mara Hoffman. Dana Davis, director of sustainability, notes they continuously strive to reduce energy consumption in the Mara Hoffman offices and on bright days work with the lights off and keep the windows open far into summer to consume less electricity. Lower usage bills have help offset some of the increased costs accrued in producing their responsible collection. This is something we all can do!
In terms of raw materials, with consumer environmental concern on the increase, and the waste of the fashion industry receiving so much media focus, it’s never been a better time to introduce responsibly-produced fibers, fabrics and trims. Organic, recycled, and low-impact fabric may cost on average 30-40% more per yard, but if you find innovative ways to use all leftover fabric scraps, you can balance the additional costs. For instance, companies can print on leftover fabric scrap squares and use as hangtags, then there is no longer a need to purchase cardstock tags. And utilizing all excess fabric and trim means less waste entering our factory-area landfills.

Companies can also cut all non-value adding (and wasteful) components from their practices and their cost sheets. Non-biodegradable items such as poly bags for buttons or individually plastic sleeves for garments can be omitted. In forcing themselves to commit to sustainability, companies are forced to think in more innovative ways, and although at first uncomfortable, innovation always leads us to more operating efficiency and cost-cutting practices.

Increased costs up front for using sustainable and responsible materials and production practices can save companies money in the long run, as customers are taking notice and staying loyal to green and sustainable companies. More and more businesses are showing positive financial performance, despite the increase in costs, due to an increase in sales. This growth in sales certainly balances the increase in cost of goods sold, especially if your overhead is lower due to decreased resource utilization, less waste and tax incentives.
Yes, tax incentives are another perk of sustainable business practices. State and local tax-breaks for businesses supporting environmental and human wellbeing initiatives are increasing every year, as well there are federal tax credits offered to US businesses for being energy-efficient.

A focus on sustainability equates to a competitive advantage like no other for those willing to go that extra mile to deliver responsible products. If you concentrate on the full value cost and not individual line-item costs, you will see that you can still be profitable while being sustainable. It may take a while, but if you are still doing business in the manner you have for the last ten-to-twenty years, then it is time for a change. As 66% of customers state that when given the choice they will select and pay more for sustainably-produced products manufactured by companies committed to positive social and environmental impact (Neilsens, 2016). And when surveyed this year in January, 78% of US consumers stated they “feel better” when they buy sustainably-produced products. If you become a brand that is part of making a difference and no longer part of the problem, you will stand out to customers who are looking for products produced by companies that mirror their own concerns at this very moment in time. This will increase your sales, show in your bottom line, and create customer relationships for the long-term.

So you are thinking you want to take steps to become more sustainable. Don’t let costs stop you. The benefits of customers knowing you care and the advantage of customers thinking you are part of the solution, should help you realize that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to practice sustainability, and that any additional monies spent to develop and produce your products are certainly worth eliminating waste and treating people and our planet with respect. These actions in turn build brand-respect, create greater perceptions of quality and value to your products… and will bring you business!Thank you Fashion Mannuscipt for publishing this article in Fashion Mannuscript, April 2017 edition

In the global fashion industry we hear so much, are taught so much and publish so much about strategic sourcing.

Additionally we discuss strategic pricing, strategic marketing, strategic buying, strategic planning and even strategic supply chain management. In 30 years of garment industry work, I have heard all these expressions countless times, and particularly more so in the last five to 10 years.

In all of this strategizing, we have created a cycle of fashion that is fast, price-driven, habit-forming and wasteful. We know this. That was our strategy—to speed it all up. And if we were to slow down, well, where in today’s computer-aided fashion production world that is sourcing, buying and planning so strategically would we slow down?

We have perfected the cycle with so many digital steps that just going slower doesn’t make sense. There is nothing strategic behind that. So, where, how and in what part of the cycle could we slow down? Well here’s a thought: How about we slow down in the fitting? In all this talk about strategy, why aren’t we talking about strategic fitting? We have an increasing number of consumers not finding clothing that fits. And what is the strategy behind that?

Fit is important. My generation was taught a quality garment should fit beautifully. In the ’80s we had a commitment to fit. We worked hard so that the clothing we manufactured fit well on the body in terms of size, comfort and contour. We learned a good-fitting garment will not slide, shift, pinch, pull, bag, droop, or hike. A good-fitting garment is flattering on the body; sits perfectly across the shoulders, around the neck, under the arm, at the waist, across the hips, through the crotch, and down the legs. Side seams must be perpendicular to the floor, waistlines parallel. No excess fabric should bring emphasis or direct the eye to any areas we do not wish to be emphasized. And, above all, a good-fitting garment should feel good on our bodies, putting on a well-fit garment feels truly special. That was our goal, and it took quite a bit of time.

I learned early on that regardless of your brand’s competitive advantage—without an attention to fit, you will get returns. The truth is we have lost our attention to fit and we are getting more returns.

In 2015 alone, $62.4 billion worth of apparel and footwear were returned due to incorrect sizing, according to a Body Labs report. Additionally, it is a fact that an increasing number of consumers are not finding clothing that fits. In a 2013 Iowa State University study, it was found that 63% of women questioned could not find clothing that fit well at retail, and 57% of women responded that they did not fit into today’s sizing standards.

In all this talk about strategy, why aren’t we talking about strategic fitting? Why are we satisfied with these stats? And, again, what is the strategy behind producing an increasing amount of clothing that does not fit?

The fact that so much clothing lining the racks of our retail stores does not fit well is yet another effect of fast fashion. We used to spend time making sure a garment fit well on the body before producing it. After our concept was designed, a patternmaker draped or drafted a pattern of our design by hand—for a fit model, whose body was measured by hand. A sample was made, we put the sample on a fit model and he or she told us how it felt. We revised the fit based on how they felt and what we saw, and advised our list of corrections to our patternmaker. The patternmaker adjusted the pattern accordingly, a revised sample was created, we put that new sample on a fit model, and he or she told us how it felt, we corrected the fit again and worked with our patternmaker again. The cycle went on until we got the fit perfect.

The average amount of samples created back then was five. Yes, that is quite a number, however what arrived at retail, for the most part, fit beautifully.

Quite different in comparison to today’s strategic sourcing model, where the factory handles many of the steps we had so lovingly performed in our designer sample rooms. Add to this, the fact that many of the new steps are completed with technology. Therefore, in terms of fit, many of the fitting steps are now completed either off-site or in the cloud. Bodies can now be measured with 3-D body scanners. Computerized patterns are created in CAD and pattern pieces can be virtually assembled on the screen and even viewed on a virtual model or avatar where you can revise the fit there. Move the waistline up, the virtual pattern pieces are corrected. A sample is then cut and sewn for one formal (and final) fitting- at times, still on a live fit model or at times on a dress form, whose measurements are based on 3-D body scans.

The fact is that a real fit model is rarely putting on and commenting on how to correct the fit. If this is done, there is only one fitting, where corrections are noted, advised, corrected in CAD, and then off the garment style goes straight to production. Yes, the garment arrives in the store fast and cheap—that is the goal, but the garment does not fit beautifully. It cannot, due to the time necessary for a great fit was not invested.

An industry focus on strategic fitting could help reduce the increased returns, as well as the increased retailer markdowns and chargebacks that are caused due to the changes technology has created in the fitting segment of the production cycle. We must consider the longevity of our product. In all our talk of sustainability, we must look at fitting as well. This segment of the cycle causes clothing to be disposable and is therefore another of the many reasons our landfills are rapidly filling up with clothing that is bought and discarded after an average of five wears.

And a look at the future of fashion software shows yet more advancements in cloud-based CAD services in terms of more sophisticated patternmaking, fitting, and avatar usage. The result is fit may suffer more, as when we view a garment on a 3-D dress form or on a virtual model, we lose the human touch. The human who was trying on the garment, was standing, moving, and sitting in that garment, who advised us if the back neck felt uncomfortable, or the armholes felt high, or the pockets were too shallow. We are losing that personalization and interconnectedness with our garments.

With fitting just one sample—instead of the previous five, whether we put a garment on a human or not—we miss the opportunity to fine tune a pattern and attend to the details big and small that create a garment that feels so good on the body. Along with fit, we also lose a great deal of styling, as without an exquisite attention to fit, we cannot create styling that is exquisite. That type of styling takes time and takes samples; so rather we choose to create an excessive amount of variations of the basic styling.

We need to truly consider how we fit our garments. We need to consider how to bring back the art of fit and the art of a fit model. The time, staff and money to create three, four, or five fit samples per style is a cost we do not want to spend, but maybe being strategic here is the ultimate strategy to save our businesses.

Strategic fitting needs to be done locally, close to design. Perhaps we need to create and encourage the use of collaborative centrally-located sample rooms, with shared patternmakers and fit models, who can be booked by the season, style, day, or hour. Or could we conceivably ask our factory groups to set up small local sample rooms, where they can directly handle the patternmaking, sample making and fitting stages of the goods they will be producing, where we are close by and can comment on the fit through a rapid series of fit samples. Can we do this? Those are two options where the costs could be shared, the time of samples going back and forth could be reduced, and we could focus on fit. If we take back this part of the cycle, the clothing will cost a tad more and the cycle may take longer, but the consumer will have a selection of good-fitting garments, which two-thirds of customers do not feel they have now.

Producing beautifully-fitting designs is just as sustainable as using less pesticides, conserving energy, and paying fair wages to our overseas sewers. Producing beautifully-fitting designs will create less returns, less chargebacks and more pleased consumers who will keep their clothing longer because they appreciate the flattering fit. As you sit and strategically source, market and plan your next line, consider strategically fitting this next line as well. Your customers and our earth will thank you.